No one at Hearts wants their Scottish Cup replay with Hibs to go to penalties – but Austin MacPhee insists they’ll be prepared down to the last heartbeat if they do.

The Jambos assistant boss and manager Ian Cathro earned their jobs and reputations due to a recognition of the depth of their analysis.

And in an amazing insight into the attention to detail they expect, MacPhee revealed they’ll be mining the data he dredged up working for Northern Ireland during their run to the Euros last-16 eight months ago.

It’s all in an effort to find ways to prepare for every eventuality at Easter Road on Wednesday night – and who will remain coolest if sent to the spot.

Ian Cathro (right) and Austin MacPhee are looking to put on over on Hibs (Image: SNS Group)

After a terrible 0-0 draw at Tynecastle seven days ago it would take a brave man to bet against their fifth-round clash going the distance.

But MacPhee said: “Drawing the match and getting to a penalty shootout is not the focus of our game.

“In any business you want to make sure the goal of everybody involved in the process is very clear. You have to be balanced but you will be realistic.

“I don’t know what the bookies say but I don’t think we’ll be underdogs.

“Having said that, being involved in the Euros, when we went into the Wales game we were forensic about penalties.

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“Right down to a point in the stadium the day before the game we wired up all the players. We had the data on their success from penalties in practice and our keeper knew all the tendencies of the Wales players.

“We believed that was our way of having a marginal gain to progress.

“We even did the walk from the half-way line at the Parc des Princes to the penalty spot and watched their heart rate spike.

“It was really interesting because the players had taken 10 penalties each by the time they got to that and I did an academic paper on it.

“The theory and rationale on it is that minutes played, position on the pitch, age, experience and then success – you put all that together then you get an algorithm, which gives you the likelihood of scoring.

“We put that together on everyone in the squad but the ones who had already missed a high percentage of the 10 they had practised had by far the highest spike.

“The smallest heart rate spike was in the ones who’d had the highest success rate so far. The percentage, it was insurmountable in terms of that.

“So naturally we’re trying to focus on winning the game within 90 minutes, however we will be prepared for every eventuality."

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MacPhee admits he and Cathro were forced to fight fire with fire in the dugout at times and put the analytical side of their characters to one side to join what he describes as a “pantomime”.

In a withering put down he said: “You understand the ramifications of losing the derby – we’re not naive as to what they are. It’s so important for the supporters.

“But you don’t make good decisions when you’re emotional and as a consequence you have to be balanced between showing enough emotion that people respond to and inwardly being calm enough to make the right decision at the right time.

“Sometimes at the side of the pitch it can be a bit like a pantomime and you need to play it as well.

“Referees are human as well – they get influenced in a number of different ways and if they’re getting influenced by one team and not the other it will be to our detriment. So sometimes you have to put on your costume and take part.

“Ian and I are both quite calm and pragmatic about what we want the game to become for Hearts and for the supporters.

“But everyone has to see we’re fighting as well and we’ve managed to strike that balance. It’s always an easier one to strike when you’re winning.”

The 37-year-old admits Hearts were disappointed to be denied a flow to their game by Neil Lennon’s side at Tynecastle. However, he insists their rivals may have had their chance to set up a quarter-final clash at home to Ayr United.

And he hinted strongly the home side were unhappy with some of the officiating that forced them to hunker down in their own box.